


Succubus Mercedes

by Waywatcher



Series: Fodlan Fantasy [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Succubus Mercedes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-23 01:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23570041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywatcher/pseuds/Waywatcher
Summary: You'd think for being part of a species so renowned for ruining people's lives Mercedes would at least be a little threatening. You would also be wrong.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Mercedes von Martritz
Series: Fodlan Fantasy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696909
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	1. Ashe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashe is absolutely positive she must be up to no good... though that doesn't explain why no one else seems to care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Three Houses, all rights to the owners.
> 
> So, I mentioned before that I might make a story about Mercedes as a succubus instead of Marianne, so… uh… here it is? I'm writing this A/N before I try writing the story, and I'm expecting for it to be difficult to strike the right tone. We'll see in the endnote if that was the case. Then again I'm not quite sure what the tone for this story is going to be. Is it going to be like OEUI? Maybe a bit more intimate due to dealing with a succubus as the main topic? I dunno.
> 
> Hmm… which character is going to be the POV…? Byleth maybe? No, that'll result in an entirely different story than what I'm going for. Ashe then? Use the smallish precious boy? Yeah, sure, I'm used to writing that sort of character.
> 
> Be warned, for this chapter contains... physical contact! I know, terrifying.

At first Ashe thought it was a deception that no one noticed. Students would walk up to a girl in his class, a soft-faced peach-haired girl called Mercedes who was just about the nicest person Ashe had ever seen, and mention something about having an "appointment", and Mercedes and that person would disappear for a bit. Sometimes half an hour, sometimes four. When Ashe sees that person again they'll be stumbling and barely coherent, and Mercedes will be smiling happily and humming to herself.

So Ashe assumed the logical thing: that Mercedes was secretly evil, and using her womanly charms and magic to manipulate the men… and women…? Of the student body for her own nefarious ends! Maybe she was a witch, or a demon! A demon with the face of an angel, but the soul of a politician! _Evil_ to her core!

The only thing Ashe couldn't figure out was her plan, and exactly what she was doing to the people she had "appointments" with. His books of knights and chivalry tell him of evil witches that siphon the youth away from others… but Mercedes already has the face and body of a goddess, and why would she need to do it so frequently? That doesn't quite seem right.

So Ashe finds a different idea, one that makes much more sense for her actions: she's _mind controlling_ everyone! She encourages people to make "appointments" with her by bribing them with… something… (maybe sweets? Supposedly she makes great sweets) and when they're alone she casts her wicked spell!

That has to be it. Right? Sure, he doesn't know _why_ she'd be controlling everyone, and maybe old knightly tales aren't the most reflective of real life, and Mercedes has never shown any other signs of being mean or dangerous, but she's still so suspicious! Besides her _evil_ appointments she's also _too_ friendly. She's too… touchy. She's always putting a hand on someone's shoulder, or their arm, or leaning against them, and stuff like that.

(Sometimes Ashe worries that she's getting attention from the wrong people. He's seen Sylvain very obviously eyeing her and trying to get her attention, as well as some other people...)

Ashe is very suspicious… but he's also very busy. Extremely busy. The Officer's Academy is difficult. He's surprised a commoner like him is even keeping up as is. The magic classes are particularly difficult. He can't keep an eye on Mercedes all the time.

(Besides, Sylvain and some of the other Lions have noticed his constant staring, and are starting to poke fun at him. Ashe does _not_ like Mercedes… well okay, she is nice to him, and beyond being suspicious he doesn't have any proof that she's actually evil yet, and she is attractive… but he's just watching her out of knightly suspicion!)

Ashe is struggling to keep up with his work because his magic theory classes are so difficult. Unfortunately as a first year student he is required to take a little bit of everything so he can't simply drop his magic theory classes. He struggles long nights trying to memorize spell circles and formulas. So late in fact that he starts to be tired even in the morning, and it affects his ability to function and begins a vicious cycle of staying up even later to compensate for what he's missing by being so tired only for that to affect his attention even _more_ the next day and it's just terrible.

And then the worst thing possible happens… Mercedes notices…

"Ashe!" The older girl greets politely, holding a tray of food. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Uh, no…" Ashe shifts to the side to allow her to sit next to him. It strikes him as odd, after all the other side of the table is totally empty, and there are other tables with people she's closer to she could be sitting at.

Still, she puts down her tray of food next to his, sitting much closer than he expected. Ashe considers moving further away, but it would be obvious he's trying to keep his distance if he does that, so instead he stays in place.

They eat their food in relative silence for a few minutes. Ashe continues to shoot glances at the girl next to him, wondering why she wanted to sit here in the first place.

Eventually, after most of their food is done, Mercedes speaks. "I've noticed that you seem a bit tired lately." She hums, and turns to look at him. "Are you staying up late Ashe?"

Ashe's shoulders hunch sheepishly. "A little bit."

"You know that's not healthy for you." She scolds lightly. "You need to go to sleep at a proper time."

Ashe sighs. "I can't…"

"Oh?"

"I have to keep up with my classes, and that means staying up late." Ashe mumbles. He sits up straight and tenses when Mercedes puts a hand on his back.

"Do you need help?" She asks in concern. "Which classes are troubling you? Are you stressed?"

Ashe isn't sure he should be confiding in her, but… "The magic classes are hard."

"And are you stressed?" Mercedes repeats.

"A little…" And by that he means a _lot_.

"I can help." Mercedes offers kindly. "Both with the classes and with your stress. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but I am rather skilled with magic. I can tutor you."

That sounds almost too good to be true, but Ashe really isn't in a position to decline. "That would be great. Thanks."

"And for your stress I can use my natural abilities to help." She offers.

Ashe blinks. "Uh…"

"Oh, did you not know?" She sounds surprised. "I thought you would have heard about it from someone! Oh dear, I did not mean to seem like I was coming on to you!" She brings a hand up to her chest where a necklace sits. "I'm not human. I'm what's known as a succubus."

Ashe blinks rapidly, surprised. "Like… the…"

"The sex demon, yes." Mercedes nods, not at all embarrassed. She's probably had to explain this before. "I have potent charm powers. The only reason you're not charmed right now is this necklace which holds back my powers. My charm powers can be very soothing though. In exchange for feeding on you, I can help you with your stress."

"Feeding?" Ashe squeaks. D-Does that mean…?

"Well there are several ways a succubus can feed." Mercedes smiles. "They way I do it is rather inoffensive. A hug. Now, that hug needs to last for… hmm… maybe a few hours? I haven't had many appointments lately, so I'm a bit peckish."

"H-Hours?" Ashe squeaks. She'd be holding on to him for _hours_?

"Yes." Mercedes smiles, like that isn't unusual and embarrassing. Then again, that must be normal for her. "Don't worry! You'll still get all your work done. I'm a very good tutor!"

Ashe smiles nervous. "Ah-uh- thanks?"

Oh goddess his heart is racing. What has he just agreed to?

###

" _This is a terrible idea._ " That's what Ashe thinks as he stops in front of Mercedes' room. Yet he still raises his hand and knocks on her door.

The door opens only a few seconds later. Mercedes must have been waiting for him. She smiles gently and opens the door wider to let him in.

Ashe wasn't expecting to see a platter of sweets on a table in the middle of the room. Mercedes sits him down at the table and pushes the plate towards him. "Have some, then we'll get to the tutoring."

"Oh." Ashe was expecting the other thing. Mercedes seems to know this, because she giggles with a knowing look.

"You can't very well study if you're charmed up to your ears, can you?" She teases. "You brought your books, didn't you?"

"Uh, yes!" He squeaks. He scrambles around in his bag to pull out the books. Mercedes has an even wider smile on her face when he glances at her face again, making him fairly sure she knows he's embarrassed and finds it amusing.

"Well then, show me what you've gotten so far." She instructs.

(She also pushes more cookies at him after noticing he's finished the one he was eating before, and he sheepishly accepts)

Mercedes' tutoring is dozens of times more efficient than trying to figure out magical theory on his own. What would have taken him several hours instead takes one and a half. Ashe really wishes he had asked for help before now.

"Well, this is wonderful!" Mercedes smiles and claps her hands. "All done!"

"Yeah." Ashe nods in relief. He feels like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. "Thanks Mercedes. I wish all my work could be this easy."

"I'd be more than happy to help you with your magic courses in the future!" Mercedes says cheerfully.

"Really?" Ashe says in relief. "Thanks. I really do appreciate it."

"Of course!" She smiles. "But not for free."

Ashe tenses. "What do you want?"

"Well… as much as I make appointments, there are times when I'm too busy to have time to be able to feed on so many people." Mercedes explains. "And Annie helps me when that happens, but I can't feed on her _all_ the time considering how often I need to feed, and I don't want to ask random students because… well… I'm not unaware that some of them might take that the wrong way."

"Why me though?"

"I feeI can trust you." Mercedes says with a smile. "Am I wrong?"

"I- uh- no! You can trust me." Ashe nods rapidly.

Her face brightens even more, and Ashe's heart skips a beat. "Oh thank you Ashe! Speaking of feeding, we should get on to that shouldn't we? Are you hungry first? It will take a while, you may be peckish if you haven't eaten enough!"

"I'm fine." Ashe says. The butterflies in his stomach are growing, and his pulse is starting to pound.

"Well, if you're sure…" Mercedes murmurs. She stands up and motions for him to do the same. She then sits down on her bed and pats her lap. "Alright, sit down and we'll start."

Ashe didn't realize he'd be sitting in her _lap_. Still, he agreed to this, and Mercedes has been nothing but kind. He takes a breath, turns around, and sits in her lap.

"Are you sure you want to sit like this?" Mercedes giggles behind him. "Most people prefer to face me."

Ashe blushes and looks away. "I didn't think I should."

"You can." She says sweetly. "If you want to."

Ashe does indeed turn around. It's so much more embarrassing to sit down in her lap while facing her than while facing away though. They're almost nose to nose… or more accurately nose to bust. Ashe hates how short he is sometimes.

"Alright, just let me…" Mercedes murmurs and removes her shawl, leaving her arms bare. "Feeding works through physical contact, skin to skin. So I'm going to put my arms up your sleeves, alright?"

"Okay." Ashe says hoarsely.

"Alright then." The older girl murmurs. She grabs her necklace and slowly removes it. "Just relax, I'll take care of you."

Ashe isn't sure if it's her words or the sudden flush of charm magic from her removing her necklace that sends a shiver down his spine. Either way, when her hands touch his arms, he can feel the weakness shoot through his body. He couldn't stop himself from falling against her if he tried.

He can feel heat on his cheeks as Mercedes hums and properly threads her arms into his sleeves and her hands onto his back. Her skin is warm on his, and it seems to sap his energy wherever she touches. Ashe tries not to shudder at the feeling.

"There we go. Comfortable?" Mercedes coos. She snuggles into him, readjusting how they are sitting and pulling him more tightly against her body. Ashe is trying not to think about how his face is being pressed into her breasts right now. That would be impolite of him to think.

Then Mercedes settles down, apparently content with her seat, and Ashe all of a sudden realizes the full extent of his situation. He's going to be stuck like this for _hours_. His body already feels warm and heavy and just… pleasant. His mind isn't working correctly either. It's actually a bit difficult to think at the moment because he feels wonderfully content and lazy.

Perhaps worse still (or better, depending on how he wants to see it) Mercedes is not motionless. Her hands caress his back, and she occasionally hums a song under her breath that vibrates to his head though her chest.

Ashe tries to readjust himself, but finds his body isn't responding. The only thing he can do is blink his eyes and occasionally twitch his fingers. Mercedes never mentioned paralysis. Or is that just normal for charm magic?

Time creeps by slowly for Ashe, really allowing him to experience what it's like to be in Mercedes' grasp. It's comfortable, almost scarily so. Ashe feels like he could fall asleep like this, using the older girl as a pillow, but he doesn't feel like he should.

Ashe has to remind himself that he's dealing with a succubus, and that he shouldn't get too comfortable. Not only is it impolite, it's dangerous.

"You're still fidgeting so much." Mercedes notes quietly. "You're fine Ashe, you can relax. Sleep if you want to. Others have. You don't have to be nervous, I'll take care of you."

Ashe swallows thickly, but nods. Or, more accurately, he tries to nod but can't. Still, he makes an effort to relax. Mercedes has not hurt anyone else, and she's even had appointments with people like Sylvain, so anything he does or thinks or says under the influence of charm magic shouldn't be offensive to Mercedes.

So Ashe takes a deep breath, and just allows himself to enjoy his position. He allows himself to lose focus and submit to Mercedes' embrace and the massage she seems to be giving his back. He stops paying so much attention to the time, and doesn't fight against the charm magic seeping into his body and brain.

###

"I think that should be enough." Mercedes murmurs. Ashe is so charmed that he doesn't really process what she says, not that Mercedes really expects him to. Even though she's putting on her necklace it will still take ten minutes for the paralysis to wear off, and an hour for the charm to fully wear out.

As expected, Ashe is in no position to react when she removes her hands from around his back. She can't very well just leave him paralyzed on the spot though, even if she is done feeding. She moves him so that his head is lying in her lap, puts her shawl back on, and patiently waits for the paralysis to wear off.

Ashe was… not quite as tasty as she expected, though in hindsight that's probably because of how late he was staying up all the time, impacting his health, and the taste of an individual directly relates to their health. At the very least it was nice to see him finally relax rather than be so clearly tired with bags under his occasionally bloodshot eyes.

Besides, Mercedes has tasted much worse than Ashe in the past, and she hopes with their deal his taste will improve. Not that she made the deal just to feed on him, of course not! She genuinely wants to help. She simply doubts he would have accepted free help, so she made it a deal instead.

The ten minute go by and Ashe starts to twitch. He's still drugged to high heaven on charm magic, so he's nowhere near in his right mind, but she probably won't have to monitor him now.

Ashe loopily tries to get up, and nearly falls face-first into the table.

Okay, maybe she _will_ have to watch him… or she could just put him to sleep until tomorrow. Yes, that sounds like a good idea.

###

Ashe wakes up the next morning feeling very relaxed. In fact, he feels better than he has in several weeks. It's been too long since he got a good night's sleep.

…

Oh, right. _That's_ why he got a good night's sleep. How on earth is he going to face Mercedes today? He spent half of yesterday basically being babied by her. There's no way he's going to be able to face her without a stammer or a blush.

Then again, she's probably used to this sort of reaction, and he's just overthinking it. Now that he considers it, that must be kind of a pain to have to deal with people being awkward around you just because you have to do something completely normal to your species.

He also feels embarrassed that he ever thought she was evil. Maybe he should take his knightly tales a bit less seriously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a weird one-shot. It's very different in tone than Marianne's chapter in OEUI, though I think it touches on the same ideas of "charm magic is kinda scary", "being food for someone is a bit disturbing", and "it's even more unnerving if it feels really pleasant while you're being eaten". Also the whole paralysis thing, as well as intimacy which people are generally uncomfortable with. The tone ended up being a bit more… steamy(?) than expected? Maybe that's the wrong term, but I hope I captured the painfully awkward intimacy that is the norm for someone not used to being food.
> 
> Also, Mercedes doesn't have Marianne's crippling self-worth issues, so she's mostly fine with feeding on people. Also, this is the main reason I chose to make Marianne the succubus in OEUI rather than Mercedes. Way more interesting for Marianne than Mercedes, but I think Mercedes being a succubus is still fun in its own way because you can write her as being perfectly calm about strange things without it seeming out of character.


	2. Felix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix is prepared for the ultimate challenge of his fighting skills... except he really didn't do his research.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Three Houses, all rights to the owners.
> 
> I bet you didn't expect to see a second chapter of this. I've had a second chapter in mind for a bit, and I really like this concept. So welcome to the second edition of "Mercedes teaches someone to chill the fuck out". This chapter's patient/victim is angry sword boy.

"A spar?" Mercedes says when Felix asks her. "Well, I suppose I have some free time, but I really think Manuela would be a better choice of opponent if you want someone with white magic."

"I know that. I'm not looking for someone with white magic." Felix scoffs. "You're a succubus. You're a perfect challenge for my skills."

"Oh…" Mercedes frowns. "I don't see how that will work. If I take off my necklace, there's really no contest."

"Don't look down on me." Felix sneers. "I've trained plenty for this. I know to avoid your touch."

"Ahh, so you want me to restrict myself to touch?" Mercedes hums.

"Of course not. Give me everything you have." Felix insists. He didn't expect her to be so patronizing. Does she really think he's so incapable that he can't dodge someone as clumsy as her and a few spells? "It's not worth my time if you're not going to put in effort."

The older girl tilts her head and a small smile crosses her lips. Felix bristles. She _is_ looking down on him! "Oh my, well I suppose I must oblige then. I hope you know what you're in for."

"Don't underestimate me. I plan to come out on top." Felix says. "I've trained for this specifically."

"I see." Mercedes giggles. "I hope you haven't spent _too_ much time practicing for this."

"Of course I have. I don't do half-measures." Felix scoffs again.

"Ahh…"

"Does Saturday afternoon work?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"I'll see you then." Felix turns on his heel and walks off. How dare she patronize him. He'll prove himself by winning their match on Saturday. He'll train extra just so he can guarantee he'll win. He can't let her get away with implying that he's _weak_.

###

"Felix!" Sylvain says cheerfully. "So I heard some interesting news yesterday~!"

"Go away Sylvain…" Felix growls. "I'm training."

"You're always training." The redhead says dismissively. "Seriously, how long have you been here today?"

"Not long enough."

"Exact time Felix."

He sighs and looks up at the sun. "Maybe… five hours? Like I said, not long enough."

"Felix, buddy, you can't train all day. There's this thing called relaxation… and also schoolwork."

Felix snorts. "You, lecturing me about schoolwork? That's rich. Now did you come here for a reason or not?"

"I want to know if the rumors are true." Sylvain says. "Did you really challenge Mercedes?"

"Of course I did." He huffs. "It's the perfect challenge of my abilities."

"Buddy, you do know that succubi are called the hunters of humanity for a reason, right?" Sylvain says slowly. "You seriously stand no chance."

That brings a snarl to his face. Sylvain too? Does _everyone_ think he's a weakling? "I've _trained_ for this Sylvain, I will win."

"Riiiiight." Sylvain smirks. "Sure buddy. Hey, can I come watch?"

"No."

"I thought you said you trained for this."

"I have. I just don't want you watching. You're distracting."

"Fiiiine. I'm sure I'll hear the results from Mercedes later." Sylvain laughs. "Good luck Felix, you'll need it!"

"I don't need luck, I have skill."

###

"Felix, I have a suggestion." Mercedes murmurs as he tests the weight of his training blade. "Perhaps you wouldn't mind adding some stakes to this fight?"

The boy raises an eyebrow. This seems rather unlike Mercedes is his mind. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I find myself in need of a feeding partner for today, so I'd like to wager if I win that you allow me to feed on you." Mercedes murmurs.

"And if I win?"

"Whatever you choose." Mercedes promises.

"I want more matches if I win." Felix demands. "I can only perfect my skills with a live opponent."

"So you agree to the terms then? You know what a feeding implies?"

"Yes." Felix nods. He can feel a nervous energy enter his veins. There's nothing quite like a fight with stakes. It might not be life or death, but it adds a certain amount of tension. He's never been the subject of a feeding, but he vaguely knows what that means. It doesn't matter though. He won't lose.

"And you are still sure you want me to use my other abilities?"

"Go all out." Felix nods. He raises his sword up in front of his body. "There's no point if you aren't trying."

"Alright~" Her voice has a sing-song tone to it, like she's amused by something. One of her hands rests on her necklace. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Just tell me when you're ready and I'll take it off."

Felix takes a steadying breath. He remembers what he has to do. He wore long sleeves today so he has less skin exposed for her to make contact with, he chose a longer blade so he has more reach, and he practiced dodges and blocks for the last three days in preparation for this. He can win, he just has to fight smartly. He is not weak and he'll prove it. "Ready."

Mercedes slowly removes her necklace. As soon as it's over her head, Felix can feel the charm magic roll over him. A warm tingle envelope his entire body, and he has to fight a shiver that's trying to crawl down his spine. On top of that, he can't look away. His eyes are locked on Mercedes, and it takes a massive amount of effort to remove his gaze even for a second or two.

"That's just my passive charm." Mercedes murmurs. "Are you sure that-"

"I can handle it!" Felix snaps. He hates how his voice catches halfway through. It makes him sound pathetic, like a child that can't speak properly. "Don't _mock_ me."

Mercedes' expression softens. "Felix…"

"Don't pity me either!" He all but roars. "I won't stand for you treating me like a weakling!"

"I see." Mercedes stands up straight. "You want me to do everything I can?"

"Yes! A proper fight!"

"Alright." She nods seriously, just like Felix wants. "Just say when."

"Fight!" He roars, and takes a single step forward. Mercedes' gaze hardens, and paralysis abruptly seizes his body. Felix tries everything, _anything_ , but all he can't even get his eyes to look away now. Less than five seconds have passed, and Felix is totally incapacitated.

"Drop your sword." Mercedes instructs. The sword immediately slips from Felix's fingers into the dirt. She then extends her hands forwards and whispers. "Won't you come here?"

It's like someone buried their fingers in his brain and _pulled_. Like a puppet on strings, totally out of his control, Felix's body strides forwards until he's standing directly in front of her. Why wouldn't he listen? He loves Mercedes. He'd do whatever she wanted him to.

Soft hands touch his face, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Felix doesn't bother to suppress his shiver this time. "You really had no idea what you were getting into, did you?" Mercedes asks quietly. "Still, I suppose I was rude to you. I'm sorry for that."

Felix doesn't know what she's apologizing for. Clearly he was in the wrong. It's not like she could ever do something-

Mercedes taps his forehead and removes the more severe charm from his mind, and Felix suddenly understands his situation. He lost. _Badly_. He managed a single step before she completely dominated his mind and controlled his body, and that was before she laid a single finger on him. All his training was irrelevant. He grossly underestimated what a succubus can do.

He's furious, he's humiliated, but mostly he's disappointed in himself. He was warned multiple times; Mercedes warned him and Sylvain warned him, but he didn't bother looking any deeper into a succubus' powers despite that. He's more glad than ever he didn't let Sylvain spectate this match. Sylvain would never let him hear the end of this.

"I'm going to put my necklace back on. Don't fall." Mercedes warns. Felix doesn't know quite what she means by that until the necklace goes back on and the charm abruptly vanishes from his body. His legs quiver and he sways in place, and he hastily grabs Mercedes' shoulders to keep himself upright. "Pulling charm magic out from someone can be just as disorienting as inflicting it." She explains as the boy gets his footing back. "Now, I believe my prize for winning was feeding. So if you have some free time now…?"

"Fine." He grunts. This feels like adding insult to injury. Not only did he lose to a succubus, but now he gets drained in an appropriate manner. He knows Mercedes probably doesn't mean to humiliate him further, but that's what it feels like. "I'll be your food."

"You make it sound so awful." She sighs. "It's pleasant, I promise."

Being paralyzed and having your energy drained is pleasant? "Right…"

###

Mercedes will admit she has ulterior motives. She could have easily found someone else to feed on today. It's not like there's a lack of people who'd be fine with it, or even _eager_ for it. No. The reason she still asked to feed on him was because of Sylvain.

As it turns out, Sylvain is not nearly as bad a friend as he appears to be. He knew Felix was overworking himself, but also knew that Felix wouldn't listen to him if he tried to tell him to chill out. So, knowing Mercedes was going to fight him, he asked her to _make_ Felix relax.

Mercedes doesn't condone forcefully inflicting anything on someone else, but she couldn't just ignore an obvious request for help, so she went ahead and added stakes to the fight with the condition that she could feed on Felix if she won so that she could help without being immoral about it.

He's being adorably sulky about it, mostly because Mercedes is pretty sure he's embarrassed but doesn't want to admit it. After all, he doesn't seem very physically affection, and that's exactly what she's going to be doing.

"You've eaten today, yes? It wouldn't do to start on an empty stomach. This is not a quick process." She says conversationally.

"I'm fine." He responds curtly. He has a grimace on his face. "Let's… just get this over with. I have training to do."

"From what I've been told you train all the time." Mercedes chuckles. She removes her shawl, revealing bare arms. Feeding in this manner is all about skin contact, so she rarely bothers with sleeves. "You really need to relax more. Stress can do terrible things to a body."

"You sound like Sylvain."

"Maybe he has a point then."

Felix scoffs. "The day Sylvain has a good point is the day I retire my sword."

"My…" Mercedes giggles. "So grim."

"Don't mock me."

She probably shouldn't tell him that she thinks his embarrassed scowl is painfully cute. It's probably a succubus thing. Succubi tend to find weakness endearing.

Well, technically succubi find weakness _exciting_ (in all senses of that word), because weakness marks easy prey for them. It's a biological reaction. There's certainly no way she's going to reveal that though. That would be even more mortifying for Felix.

"Now, how do you want to do this? I'm not picky." Mercedes says. "You're taller than me, so maybe I should sit in your lap?"

Felix's face blushes scarlet. "Why would you do that!?"

"Felix, you're not exactly going to be able to move during this." She explains with a smile. "I need to make sure you don't fall over."

"Why are we sitting then?" Felix frowns. "Wouldn't it make more sense to lie down?"

Mercedes' face lights up with a wide smile. "Oh, of course we can do that! I thought it would be too intimate for you."

The boy is confused for a few seconds, then realizes what he just suggested. "On second thought-"

"Let's go right ahead then, hmm?" Mercedes says, and gently pushes him against the bed. Felix has an anxious expression that he's desperately trying to suppress, and Mercedes has to stop for a second. "Felix… I'm not going to force this on you-"

"I'm fine."

"You look like you're about to panic."

"I'm _fine_."

"Alright…" He will be fine in a moment anyways. Feeding involves inflicting calm on your partner to some extent. "Just lie down, and I'll deal with the rest."

Felix reluctantly listens to her order and lies back on the bed. It's a new perspective to have Mercedes leaning over him like this. He doesn't want to admit he finds it intimidating. It's a stupid thing to find intimidating, Mercedes is possibly the least scary person he's ever met, but she's also the person who beat him in a fight in less then two seconds.

"Just relax. I'll take care of you." Mercedes soothes. At least, she _tries_ to soothe him, but those words only serve to make him more nervous.

"I don't need taking care of."

"Nonsense. Everyone needs a bit of love sometimes." Mercedes tuts. "Now shh…"

She removes her necklace and Felix fights a sudder. He's not sure if her natural charm magic is pleasant or terrifying. It's probably supposed to be pleasant, but knowing that the whole reason she has those powers is for the express purpose of controlling people kinda puts a damper on any comfort it might deliver.

Mercedes takes a moment to seat herself on his hips, then leans down so she's lying against him and winds her arms up his sleeves and around his back, and rests her head against his neck. "There we go. Nice and comfortable."

Comfortable is one way to put it. Felix would describe it as nerve-wracking. He feels weak like a kitten… or a worm. Her hands are warm and soft on his back, and her chin resting in the crook of his neck makes his neck tingle pleasantly… but it's also a stark reminder of his weakness. He couldn't push her head away from his neck if he wanted to, and he has no strength to fight off her embrace.

He also hates how his attention is being drawn in inappropriate directions. It's probably because of her natural charm magic, amplified by her touch, but he can't help but feel that if he were just a bit more focused, a bit more controlled, he could ignore his instincts. He doesn't want to think about the pleasant weight of her body on top of his, or the way her thighs lightly squeeze his hips, or how her breasts are being squished against his chest…

" _This has to be what it's like to be Sylvain._ " Felix grimaces. " _I feel so dirty._ '"

On some level he knows it's not really his fault, and that Mercedes doesn't care and probably expects this, but that doesn't make him feel any less disgusted with himself.

"Stop being so tense." Mercedes scolds. Her hands press into his back, finding obvious tension in the muscles. "I'm not going to hurt you Felix."

He knows that. It's just-

"Or maybe it's because you've been training too much." Mercedes murmurs. Her hands start to massage him. "You must be so sore... Felix, you can't ruin your body like this."

Felix would grimace if he had control of his body. This feels like the lectures Ingrid gives him, except without all the shouting. Yes, he's always sore, but if he isn't that means he's not training enough. Any moment his muscles aren't sore is-

"I bet you think that always being sore is a good thing, don't you?" Mercedes huffs as if reading his thoughts. "There is such a thing as overworking yourself you know. Honestly. In fact… I'm going to roll you over."

She doesn't bother trying to get a response out of him before extracting herself from him and rolling him onto his stomach (taking care to make sure his head is sideways and comfortable on the pillow) and then pulling up the back of his shirt. She then stretches her fingers and begins properly massaging his back.

"Really Felix, you need to give your body a break once in a while." She scolds.

Felix would be lying if he said it wasn't incredibly relaxing. At the same time he has no idea what to think about this, because a massage was _not_ part of the deal.

" _Am I being babied?_ " Felix considers. He wouldn't put it past Mercedes. It seems very in-character for her. He's heard of her "appointments" before and knows it's not unusual for her to dote on the people she's feeding from. Still, it's an unnerving feeling to be acted upon with no ability to act in return or even refuse, even if the other party has the best of intentions.

It's also just occurring to him that he's going to have to handle multiple hours of putting up with whatever arbitrary thing Mercedes decides needs to happen. He really should have thought about the stakes of that fight a bit more… though the only reason he agreed in the first place was because he thought he was going to win.

(As it turns out, after thoroughly massaging his back, Mercedes _doesn't_ decide anything else needs to happen and contentedly spends a few hours snuggling him.)

###

"Hey Felix!"

"Go away Sylvain."

"I heard an interesting rumor today-"

"Don't care."

"-about you-"

"Still don't care."

"-and Mercedes."

Felix is silent. He really hopes Sylvain drops this, but he knows the redhead won't.

"Didn't you challenge her to a fight?"

"Yes." He growls.

"And you lost."

A snarl crosses his face. "Thanks for reminding me."

"You're just bitter." Sylvain chuckles. "But that's not what I heard. I heard you were seen leaving her room a few days ago."

"Maybe."

"She convinced you to let her feed on you, didn't she?"

Felix turns away and glares at the sword in his hand. Under his breath he mutters. "We made a bet."

"What was that?" Sylvain asks cheekily, putting a hand to his ear. "Louder please, I couldn't hear you."

"We made a bet!" He snaps. "And I lost. Happy?!"

"Very." Sylvain chuckles. "So, was it great? Did you freak out because you're bad with women?"

"I am _not_."

"Did you finally take a break?"

"If you can call being pinned to a bed by someone for three hours taking a break…" Felix grumbles.

"Lucky bastard." Sylvain says in awe. Felix scoffs and rolls his eyes. Of course that would be Sylavin's reaction. "But that's good. You never chill out. I'm glad Mercedes followed through and got you to chill out."

"Yeah yeah." Felix says, then something occurs to him. "Wait… what do you mean she followed through?"

"I might have asked her to help you relax." Sylvain grins.

"You bastard…"

"Aw c'mon, it turned out well, didn't it?"

"I hate you."

"Hey, even Ingrid was in on it."

"What!?"

"It took a bit of convincing, but…"

"Why am I even friends with you two?"

"Because we all stop each other from self-destructing?"

"Shut up Sylvain. Don't pretend you actually know what you're talking about."

Sylvain promptly starts laughing, and Felix makes a concentrated effort to ignore him and get back to practicing. Sylvain isn't done talking though. "You never told me if you liked it or not."

"I'm not answering that."

"You know I won't stop asking until you tell me."

Felix snarls. Why must Sylvain be so intrusive? "It was fine."

"C'mon Felix, details!"

"No. It was fine. That's all you're getting."

"So you liked it."

"I never said that."

"Well you're only telling me that it was fine, so I have to make some assumptions."

"No you don't. You're just doing it anyway."

"Yep!"

Felix can feel his eye twitching. Why did he have to be friends with one of the most frustrating people in existence? "It was… unnerving. I'd rather not go through that again."

"Huh." Sylvain's voice loses the teasing tone. "Why's that? I usually find it pretty pleasant."

"It was." Felix admits in frustration. It's not like Mercedes did anything wrong or supremely intrusive. She was perfectly nice to him. It _was_ pleasant and relaxing. "Look, I don't know. I had no control of my limbs, my head, anything. There's just something that feels wrong about that."

"Really? It's fun for me." Sylvain muses. "Kinky even."

Felix regrets sharing anything with Sylvain. "You're disgusting."

"Nah, you're just too uptight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much different chapter tonally from the one with Ashe. This is why I opted for Ashe the first time around, he makes things so much easier. Felix is a bit too surly for Mercedes to fully be able to help him relax, but I like the way the chapter turned out.
> 
> You could totally make a series out of Mercedes helping everyone in Garreg Mach calm the fuck down. I wasn't sure whether to do Annette or Felix here, but went with Felix to have as different a tone as possible. Maybe I'll do an Annette chapter at some point in the future.


	3. Annette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annette remembers her early days of knowing Mercedes, and Mercedes explains some of the psychological quirks standard to her species.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Three Houses, all rights to the owners.
> 
> I mentioned I had thoughts about Annette last time, so if you didn't expect her for this chapter I have no idea what you expected. Somehow this chapter ended up being about the psychological quirks of succubi instead of the usual "Mercedes helps person X relax", though that's because Annette is a special case.
> 
> Also, these chapters are not necessarily in order of occurrence, and this one will make that quite clear because it doesn't even occur in Garreg Mach.

When Annette first saw Mercedes, she thought the older girl looked like the physical embodiment of a hug. She looked friendly, gentle, and comforting. Of course, Annette didn't know if that was true because she'd never talked to Mercedes, but it certainly influenced her decision to approach. If there was anyone who would be her friend, it would be this girl. How could someone who looked so fluffy and soft be a bad person?

Mercedes looked mostly the same as she does now, if maybe a bit more thin and a little less modest. The most notable difference would be that she didn't have her shawl, but she otherwise wore a very similar outfit.

Not that Annette knew that back in the day. To her, Mercedes' conservative-looking white shirt that nonetheless clung very tightly to her figure was normal. The shawl that (mostly) hides her figure didn't come about until Garreg Mach. She was also more thin than she is now. Not that she isn't thin now, but… it used to be more pronounced. Her body was more obviously exaggerated in the waist to hip/bust ratio.

It's only in retrospect that Annette can make these comparisons though. Again, at the time, Mercedes to her was the friendly-looking, huggable, pretty older girl that she wanted to make friends with. She was not the girl she had been friends with for years, and Annette was not aware of her nature as a succubus. Not immediately at least.

Class had not started yet, and there _was_ a free seat next to this girl. So, mustering her courage, Annette had walked over to that free seat and sat next to the older girl. "H-Hi! Is this seat taken?"

"No it isn't." The older girl had smiled. "You're welcome to sit."

"Thanks!" Annette chirped back. "My name is Annette Fantine Dominic!"

"And I am Mercedes Von Martritz." Mercedes responded with a serene nod.

" _See? She is friendly, I knew it! Hug incarnate!_ " Annette beamed. "I'm a first year! This is actually my first class!"

"It is mine as well." Mercedes said. "I'm also in first year."

"Really!?" Annette gasped. "But you're… _old_."

"I'm not sure eighteen counts as old." Mercedes giggled. "But I started my education a bit late, so I'm only a first year."

" _Eighteen?_ " Annette thought. That seemed like so much older than her at the time. Annette was only twelve, so eighteen years old was an extra half a lifetime to her. That seemed like a lot, and to be fair even now Annette hasn't hit that point. "That seems old to me. I'm only twelve."

"When you say that I _do_ feel old." Mercedes hummed. She runs a hand over her face. "I can feel the wrinkles and see the grey hairs already…"

That was an absurd thing to say already considering Mercedes' skin and hair was immaculate, though it was only later that Annette would understand the humor of Mercedes even _suggesting_ she could get wrinkles or grey hairs. Succubi don't get signs of aging like that until they're _really_ old, as you might expect of a species whose whole deal is that they're as generally physically attractive as possible. If a succubus gets grey hairs, they're probably over one-hundred years old already and succubi live a century and a half at most, so that's the equivalent of being an elder, two thirds through your life, before _any_ major signs of aging start to show up.

That meeting, simple as it was, was the start of a very long friendship.

Annette's impression of Mercedes didn't, and still hasn't, changed all that much over time. Annette can still say with confidence that Mercedes looks like a hug given human form, and she is indeed very friendly and soft. That doesn't mean Annette hasn't learned anything about the older girl at all though. For one, it took a while to realize that maybe Mercedes wasn't human, or at least had some odd psychological quirks.

It started with noticing how Mercedes acted when she didn't know Annette was around. So it was mostly things Annette noticed before calling out to Mercedes when she saw her, which would be maybe a few seconds. Still, Annette had always been observant, so despite it not being a long stretch of time she still noticed some things.

For one, Mercedes would sometimes hold herself differently. There would be occasions when Mercedes' posture would change from her usual calm and relaxed state to something more tense and alert. She would tilt her head to the side, slightly pucker her lips and drop her eyelids, and hold her hands behind her back and thrust her chest forward. Sometimes, when she was doing this, Annette would notice her talking to people, usually boys, or walking slowly along a path with a swing to her hips. Annette herself was too young and had too little experience with flirting to identify seduction or an intentionally tempting pose when she saw it. To Annette at the time, it was just something that Mercedes did and she didn't give it much thought.

Other times Annette would notice that when she messed up, usually when she tripped over something, Mercedes would have a flash of an unusual expression. It was an intent, intense stare, sometimes accompanied by Mercedes leaning forward a bit or a light parting of her lips. The expression would last just a moment before the older girl's concern kicked into action and she would rush to help and heal Annette, but it was another odd quirk that Annette eventually took note of.

There was also one particular memory that Annette has that she remembers as the starting point of her really beginning to pay attention to Mercedes' quirks. It was a bout of odd behaviour on the older girl's part. The day started normally, with Annette meeting Mercedes (who was always slower to get up in the morning) at her door and they walked to breakfast before going to class. That was all normal.

It was the small things that were off. At this point in their relationship they were comfortable enough to share the occasional greeting hug, and that's exactly what made Mercedes' actions weird. That day, Mercedes was rather touchy. It wasn't anything intrusive exactly. Mercedes would touch Annette's arm when she spoke, always put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention rather than just saying her name, would lean towards her whenever Annette spoke and would subtly stare at her mouth the whole time.

It was that combination of small odd things that made Annette start really paying attention to Mercedes' quirks. It would only be later that she would learn that on that particular day Mercedes was _starving_ from not having fed in nearly a week and a half, and it was the closest Mercedes ever came to outright attacking someone. She did not have the arrangement she has at Garreg Mach where she uses her feeding to help others with stress; she used to feed the more standard way by identifying a target, either enticing them into approaching or seducing them directly, and then isolating them somewhere secluded to feed and then wiping their memory. It was a daily game of manipulation by finding people to prey on or else setting them up to be preyed on later. Feeding through kisses granted her a bit more leeway, satisfying her for up to a week if needed rather than a few days at most (though feeding every four days was still the most healthy for that particular method).

Anyhow, Mercedes was acting weird, and Annette finally took notice. It was from then on that Annette studied Mercedes' actions and started to piece things together. Annette eventually learned what seduction was (through a book Mercedes gave to her actually) and almost instantly identified some of Mercedes' actions as such. It was hard at first to wrap her mind around her saintly, sweet, gentle friend seducing someone.

She noticed how Mercedes was often busy in the evening, but never went back to her room during that time. She noticed how Mercedes' eyes would follow anyone who was obviously skittish, shy, or clumsy. She noticed that Mercedes would go through great pains to hide the fact that she wore a necklace for some reason, and Annette overheard a talk between Mercedes and a teacher about the fact that the necklace was magic that Mercedes was quite obviously coming up with excuses for, claiming it was a family heirloom that provided protection from magic. It was a vaguely plausible excuse due to Mercedes' naturally incredible magic resistance and it got the teacher off Mercedes' back, but Annette knew it was untrue. Mercedes had told her it was a gift from her mother, bought for her fifth birthday. It wasn't an heirloom at all.

Annette also remembers the day that she learned that Mercedes was a succubus. It was actually by accident. Annette can't remember _why_ she was looking for Mercedes. It might have been a project they were working on together? It was important at the time, though it really doesn't matter now. All that matters is that it was important enough for Annette to try and find Mercedes despite this being one of the evenings Mercedes was busy.

" _Maybe she's on a date?_ " Annette had thought as she ventured closer to the boys' dormitory. Maybe Mercedes was over here meeting with someone. " _I don't want to interrupt, but this is sort of important._ "

She snooped around the back of the building, where tall trees cast shadows on the walls and she could see some certainly underage boys sharing a keg of ale they managed to get from Goddess-knows-where. Annette kept to the trees where it was darkest, and she could remain unnoticed.

Mercedes was not to be found directly around the dormitories, but she wasn't too far away. It was through mild desperation and, by pure chance, overhearing that someone had been seen sneaking off to the gardens at night, that Annette made her way into the gardens and climbed over the gate.

The gardens were full of all sorts of wonderful plants, and with the low sun casting everything in darkness it granted the place a surreal, fey-like quality. She carefully wove between aisles of plants and supplies, looking for her friend.

She did find Mercedes to be fair. Annette couldn't see exactly what was going on at the time, but she did see Mercedes' back turned to her and the arms of someone else around Mercedes' waist.

That was also the first time Annette got a taste of charm magic. She didn't quite understand it at the time, only processing that she couldn't help but stare at her friend. Still, she had enough presence of mind to not be completely stunned and fight the charm magic to the point that she could raise her voice and call out: "Mercie?"

Mercedes' reaction was fast. In an instant she had taken a step away from whoever the other person was and slipped on her necklace (which also shut off the charm magic). Annette was admittedly alarmed to see the other person, an older boy who was probably a fourth year, slump against the wall with twitching fingers and limp arms, but she forced it out of her mind for the moment. "Annie, what are you doing here!?"

"I was looking for you! W-We have a project due tomorrow, remember? We said we'd work on it this evening."

"Oh! I'd completely forgotten!" Mercedes gasped. "Give me just a minute and I'll be right there!"

Despite what she'd just seen, Annette didn't bring it up. She didn't ask what was wrong with the boy, or what happened to him afterwards. The urgency of completing their project took priority, and it would be four days before Mercedes finally breached the subject.

"So… do you remember what you saw a few days ago?" Mercedes had asked hesitantly over dinner.

"It's kind of hard to forget." Annette muttered. "What was going on? What did you do to that guy?"

"Well…" Mercedes said reluctantly. "Annie, you're aware that there are intelligent species in the world, right?"

"Yeah." Annette nodded. "I remember learning about vampires and stuff when I was being tutored back at home. It was shocking to learn they were actually _real_ and not just stories."

"Well I'm one of those intelligent species." Mercedes admitted. "I am not human. What I was doing to that boy is known as feeding, because I am-"

"A vampire!?"

"No, I'm a succubus." She explained softly. "I need to do what you saw me doing in order to survive."

That point was about seven months after they first met, and just under four years ago from the present day.

###

"I looked like a hug, did I?" Mercedes says in amusement. "That has to be one of the most creative and flattering compliments I've ever gotten."

"You still do." Annette says. "I can't really pinpoint what about you gives that impression though."

"I've been told before that I'm quite motherly. Perhaps that is it." The older girl suggests.

"Maybe." Annette shrugs. "Though now it might just be because you give really good hugs."

"Hmm…" Mercedes hums, smiling. "Maybe."

"I still don't understand some of the things you did back in the day though. Why were you staring at me when I tripped, or always paying attention to shy people?"

"Those are both for mostly the same reason." Mercedes explains. "You know I am a predator, yes? A predatory species that is."

"Yeah." Annette nods.

"Well, unlike humans who are more prey species then predator but are a bit of both, succubi are all predator." Mercedes says. "Our instincts are a bit different than humans, and more pointedly we prey on humans… so naturally, anything that marks someone as easy prey catches our attention and is enticing and _exciting_ for us. So tripping, or shyness, or really any sort of weakness, physical or social or emotional, is something we take notice of because we can easily take advantage of it."

Annette can feel her face heating up a bit. "Wait, so when you were staring at me whenever I tripped-"

"You were very enticing." Mercedes says calmly, like she isn't embarrassing her best friend immensely right now. "If too young for me."

Annette hides her face in her hands. "Oh Goddess…"

Mercedes calmly sips her team, poorly hiding a smile behind the cup. "Don't worry, you couldn't be expected to know. I wasn't aware myself until I put time into studying how succubi work."

"You actually studied this stuff?" Annette mumbles.

"In a sense. I studied evolutionary biology and psychology." Mercedes affirms. "I knew I was quite different from humans early on, so I made a point to understand why and how that was the case."

"What's evolutionary biology? Er, and psychology?"

"It is the study of why certain traits, physical and mental, might have developed in a creature over time." Mercedes explains. "Such as, say, the flight or fight response, which is to help a creature survive danger. Or on the physical side, why humans have thumbs, or why children are so helpless."

"Woah…" Annette blinks. "And how much did you learn about yourself?"

"Directly from the course? Not much." Mercedes admits. "But with the knowledge I gained I could start making some tentative assumptions. Actual conclusions would require research and testing and all that, and I don't really want to do that, but it was still helpful."

"You're so cool Mercie."

"Cool? I thought I was gentle." Mercedes giggles. "Or a hug."

"You can be all of them." Annette says. "You are all of them! Cool, but gentle and nice, and _definitely_ a hug."

"I'm starting to think you might want a hug."

"I _always_ want a hug."

Mercedes is more than happy to indulge her friend of course, and Annette is happy to get another hug. Mercedes speaks up while they're embracing. "So, on the subject of evolutionary psychology… this hug, right now."

"Yes?"

"I feel- less so because you're a close friend- my hunting instincts in the back of my head." Mercedes explains in a quiet, calm, non-threatening voice. She's not saying this to be scary, she's saying this to be informative. "A desire to squeeze and nibble and _feed_. It happens almost every time I hug someone, or even just when I make physical contact. I've gotten used to it over time, I can ignore it quite easily, but it is still there."

"And that would be because…?"

"To encourage proper feeding behaviour. Squeezing the hug would make it hard for you to struggle away, and nibbling would start to activate my more potent charm powers, and of course beginning to feed would trigger feeding paralysis." Mercedes explains. "So a succubus that has these instincts versus one that didn't would be more able to hunt properly, or even hunt at all if they never got instruction and only had instinct to rely upon."

"Ooh, so it's a survival thing!" Annette chirps.

"Exactly." Mercedes nods. "Many succubi quirks are related to feeding and predation, with a few exceptions."

"Like what?!" Annette asks eagerly. She's just curious at this point.

"Well… from what my mother told me, most succubi if not taught otherwise tend to be naturally egotistical and apathetic to others." Mercedes murmurs. "From looking through history texts I learned that we tended to be solitary predators because too many succubi in one place draws attention from all the feedings, and we often regarded humans as no more than food and so relied on manipulation and being as self-serving as possible. Therefore, we had no one to be empathetic towards because the only person we cared about was our mother, and we thought ourselves better than all the easily-manipulated humans around us."

"It sounds really scary when you put it that way." Annette admits.

"It does." Mercedes agrees. "Unfortunately, we cannot choose our instincts. They manifest through millions of years of random mutations and small adjustments. Succubi are naturally encouraged to be confident in our abilities, because we do truly have overwhelming advantages, and we are apathetic so as to use those advantages to the fullest. From a survival standpoint it makes complete sense to be egotistical and apathetic because humans are usually just too weak to threaten us most of the time. And that isn't even touching on the instinctive desire to control others."

"You have that?" Annette asks, amazed. "I would never have thought so from _you_ Mercie."

"I ignore it for obvious reasons." Mercedes says. "I suppose it would be more accurate to say it's a desire to _dominate_ others and hold them completely in your power than to merely control or direct them. When your charm magic is strong enough to amount to mind control, well…"

"I can see why that would be the case." Annette muses. "But wow, that's really something. It's so weird to think of _you_ feeling like that Mercie!"

"That is just what I am." Mercedes hums. "Besides, they are only instincts. Education and upbringing have a strong impact as well. I may be a predator species, and everyone else my prey, but that does not mean I learned to be a domineering and terrible person."

"And it's not like humans don't have some nasty instincts too, right?"

"Exactly." Mercedes nods. "I would like to think that, powers aside, I am no more worrisome than any other person."

"Yeah." Annette nods. "And you're probably the most empathetic person I know!"

"Thank you Annie." Mercedes giggles. "I've had a lot of practice controlling myself. You should have seen me at home before I went to the mage academy. I was a bit of a terror for the servants while I was learning self-control growing up. I can't count the number of times I cornered some poor servant boy whenever I was hungry without any consideration for what they were doing at the time."

"I can't even imagine you doing that." Annette says. "That seems so different from how you are now!"

"I would hope so." The older girl says. "I'd like to think I've changed, especially now that I no longer have to hunt to feed."

Mercedes still hunted right up until she came to Garreg Mach, and it was only recently that she started to allow Annette to be a feeding partner. She was reluctant for a long time because of their age difference, thinking of it as taking advantage of her younger, more naive friend.

"But now you have to settle for hugs instead of kisses. Do you miss hunting ever?" Annette asks.

"Of course." Mercedes sighs. "How I feed now is like having a snack every hour instead of actually having meals. I may be used to it, but I wouldn't exactly call it _satisfying_."

"Well I could-"

"No Annie." Mercedes interrupts softly. "I appreciate the thought, but I'd rather not."

"Ah, alright." Annette mumbles. Then are you just never going to…?"

"Maybe when I find an actual partner." Mercedes hums. "Or when I can't keep up the current arrangement. For now though, I prefer this."

"Okay. But if you ever want a proper meal, I'll be happy to provide!" Annette chirps.

"I will keep it in mind." Mercedes murmurs. "For now though, let us simply enjoy our tea, alright?"

"Okay!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like doing these psychology-focused chapters, because delving into how fantasy species actually work is a lot of fun for me. Whether it makes for good content is up for debate, but whatever, this is my story and I'll talk about succubus psychology if I want to. I actually could have gone on for longer, but decided against it.
> 
> Next chapter we'll be back to the standard formula. Annette was a special case.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercedes hears a curious rumor, and confronts the person responsible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's both interesting and slightly difficult to write (more or less) the same actions and story over and over but somehow give them different emotional contexts. Right now, I'm managing that by choosing character with drastically different personalities, but if I ever step outside of the Lions it's going to be more difficult not to retread the same ground.
> 
> Oh, we're featuring Sylvain this time. I don't know how to start, but I know how I want everything after the beginning to go.

"Ah, Mercedes, you look divine as always."

"Always the flatterer Sylvain, and oh so creative. Divine, because I'm religious? I can't imagine anyone has thought of that before."

"I don't need to be original, I just need to be _good_." Sylvain says, and winks.

"Oh really now?" Mercedes smiles. "And how good are you, exactly?"

"Very." Sylvain says. "Enough to win the heart of every girl I talk to!"

"Oh, is that so? What are all these rumors I hear about you being rejected then?"

"Jealous exes mostly." Sylvain says dismissively. "Some ladies don't know when things aren't working."

"Mmm, I'm sure that's it." Mercedes hums. "So did you have a reason for stopping me here Sylvain, or did you just want to give a compliment?"

Mercedes is prepared for the inevitable offer of lunch or tea, but to her surprise Sylvain simply laughs and says: "Just a compliment! Sorry to get in your way Mercedes, your dazzling beauty was just that distracting! I'll talk to you some other time."

Sylvain strides away, raising a hand in goodbye, leaving Mercedes slightly confused as to why Sylvain bothered to approach her at all, especially if he was going to stand across the walkway from her the entire time. He didn't even try and lean in or put an arm over her shoulder like he would with other girls.

Very odd.

Mercedes goes about her day as usual from then on. She has faith class under Manuela, has lunch with Annette, has a brief training session with the Professor (and refuses to let him fight her without her necklace off, because she won't be responsible for charming the Professor when he still has to teach more classes today), and then takes a trip to the market before dinner because she has no afternoon classes.

As standard procedure before she leaves the monastery Mercedes changes her outfit. She puts on a slightly baggy, long-sleeve, turtleneck shirt, and a floor-length skirt. She also wears her shawl, of course, because she likes her shawl.

She changes her outfit for practical purposes. It might be uncomfortable to wear long-sleeve shirts and a long skirt in the summer, but unwanted attention is even more uncomfortable, and outside of the monastery proper she can't rely on the assistance of guards, teachers, or friends as much.

Of course her powers will protect her just fine, but she'd rather not ruin a perfectly fine trip by being forced to inflict paralysis in public because someone decided bare forearms was somehow an invitation for persistent flirtation.

Anyhow.

Mercedes is perusing the open-air market, looking over some very nice fabrics that she's considering for a new shawl (it can't hurt to have a backup, not to mention something more thick for winter) when a conversation catches her attention. She hears her name mentioned by a pair of male students walking through the market.

"-yeah, I heard Sylvain has had several appointments with her." One of the boys says. "If Mercedes can put up with him, you'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" The other boy, quiet and nervous, asks. "I don't want to seem needy."

"She's basically made it her job to help people who are overworked, you're _exactly_ the sort of person she'd help." The first boy reassures his friend.

Mercedes listens to all this with curiosity. First, she's quite happy to hear that she's know for her kindness and _not_ just her physical appearance, second, she's absolutely willing to help this person if he feels he needs it, third, she's never had a single appointment with Sylvain. Where did they hear that from?

She doesn't talk to the two boys, allowing them to continue on their way, and files away their conversation in her mind for later. She goes back to looking at different fabrics, choosing a nice light blue colour and spending a minute to haggle down the price.

Mercedes returns to her room with a swath of fabric rolled up under her arm, and after putting it away she goes about locating Dorothea.

Now, Mercedes doesn't interact with Dorothea all that often, they're friendly acquaintances at best, but Mercedes is well aware that Dorothea is always on top of the rumor mill. Mercedes is sure she could ask Hubert, Manuela, or Claude, but Mercedes is most familiar with Dorothea.

Dorothea is difficult to locate, surprisingly. Usually she dominates whatever room she's in. She's not on a date, surprisingly, but is instead off bothering Felix to try and get a date… and failing, badly.

Luckily for Felix (who looks extremely uncomfortable and is trying to physically distance himself from Dorothea to little effect) Mercedes has need of Dorothea.

"Dorothea! Oh, my apologies Felix, would you mind if I steal her away for a moment?" Mercedes asks. It's an unnecessary question, but she's trying to be diplomatic here.

"Please." Felix grumbles. Dorothea sighs, knowing she's lost her prey, and turns to face Mercedes, and Felix quickly flees the room immediately after.

"Mercie, to what do I owe the honor?" Dorothea asks with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I don't suppose you came just to free Felix. Did he have an appointment maybe?"

So she knew she was making him uncomfortable? How rude. "No, actually, I need your expertise."

"Oh?" Dorothea perks up. "Do you need suggestions for a play? Dance lessons? Singing? Or maybe you need flirtation tips? I'd like to think I'm rather good at that."

"Ah, no." Mercedes says, somewhat apologetically. "I actually need your knowledge of the rumor mill."

"Oooh!" Dorothea smirks. "Looking for something juicy?"

"Not quite." Mercedes says. "I need to know the origin of a certain rumor."

"Well that's a bit tricky, but I can try. What's the rumor?"

"I've overheard someone mentioning that Sylvain has had appointments with me." Mercedes says. "Which simply isn't true at all."

Dorothea's eyebrows shoot up. "Wait, really?"

"Yes."

"Huh. I thought he would have been one of the first after you started offering." Dorothea says. "Did you turn him down or something?"

"He never asked, and I never saw it necessary to offer."

"Wow." Dorothea murmurs. "Learn something new every day. Well, uh, as far as I'm aware that specific rumor- I didn't think I was a rumor I just thought it was fact so I didn't pay particular attention to it- came from Sylvain himself. He mentioned it one day and it seemed perfectly plausible, so everyone took it at face value."

"I see…" Mercedes says, her brows knit in thought. "Thank you for your help Dorothea."

Before Mercedes can leave, Dorothea grabs her by the sleeve. "Come on Mercedes, you can't just free my potential date and walk away! Who's going to keep me company over dinner now?"

Mercedes rolls her eyes just a bit, and then offers her arm. "Would you like to accompany me to dinner, Dorothea?"

"Indeed I would." Dorothea says primly, and loops her arm through Mercedes'.

Dinner is fine, but Dorothea talks way, _way_ too much for Mercedes to get in many words herself. Dorothea is like her mentor in that way.

###

Sylvain takes a deep breath, and puts his most winning smile on his face. He really has to stop doing this to himself. He knows he's stepping into the proverbial lion's den by doing this, but _not_ doing this would raise more questions than he wants.

So Sylvain waits by the entrance to the cathedral as he does every Sunday at exactly eleven in the morning, and waits for Mercedes to show up.

Sylvain isn't used to being scared of someone. The only person he could say he was properly scared of before Mercedes was Miklan, and that's for very different reasons. Miklan scares him because Miklan is actively malicious. A violent, vicious asshole who Sylvain has the misfortune of knowing personally. Mercedes is very much _not_ that, and admittedly isn't as scary as Miklan, but Sylvain finds himself scared anyways.

Not that he'd ever admit that aloud, of course.

Mostly it's because, for all everyone else seems to see in Mercedes, Sylvain sees the same thing he sees in almost every noble he's ever met, just with a nicer coat of paint and potentially life-destroying charm powers, and with a very real reason to dislike him.

But it's that nice coat of paint and life-destroying charm powers that force Sylvain to deal with her weekly, despite the risk. People expect it of him and so he must oblige, or at least seem to.

He can see Mercedes walking down the bridge to the cathedral right now. As always she's wearing the smiling, vaguely motherly mask she's carefully crafted and that works so well for finding a potential husband.

Yes, a husband, because Sylvain doesn't think Mercedes is any different from any other noble girl. What are her powers and her appointments except for a convenient way to keep herself well-connected, make herself known as a 'generous' individual and get prestige, and to search for a husband through appointments which will also allow her to easily capture anyone who catches her interest? Succubi charm powers can quite easily be used to permanently alter someone's mind. She could have influenced any number of the people she's fed on, and no one would have any idea or indication of it.

Add onto this the fact that Sylvain has hit on a number of Mercedes' friends in the past, and that's why Sylvain is wary of her and why he hates having to pretend to hit on her. She's no different than anyone else, is much more dangerous than anyone else, and probably doesn't like him.

"Heya Mercedes!" Sylvain says, waving to the girl when she passes nearby. "How's my favourite divine beauty doing?"

"Still using 'divine', Sylvain?" Mercedes asks, smiling. "I remember you said you didn't have to be original, but using the same compliment so shamelessly? Surely you must have _some_ standards."

"You wound me!" Sylvain gasps. "Using the same compliment only reinforces my sincerity! Why, if I called you cute once and then lovely another, it would seem like I was inconsistent and untruthful!"

"Or you might have only one compliment because you haven't noticed anything else to compliment, signalling your insincerity." Mercedes points out.

"We can talk hypotheticals all day, or you can just accept my compliment." Sylvain suggests with a wink. "It's free! No need to question it."

"Hmm…" Mercedes hums. "If you say so."

"I do."

"Well, thank you then." Mercedes says. "In fact… I have a free gift to offer in return."

Sylvain blinks. "Uh, you do?"

"Indeed." Mercedes says. "It's come to my attention that, despite it never having happened, you've mentioned having several appointments. So that you don't have to lie any longer, I figured I would offer one."

Sylvain laughs, trying to hide his nervousness. "Heard about that, did you? I swear I don't mean anything too selfish by it! I wasn't trying to nag. It's just… people expect it of me, so it was easier to say that I'd had appointments rather than constantly have to explain that I hadn't."

"I see…" Mercedes hums. "The offer still stands anyways. I don't have anyone else scheduled for today, you wouldn't have to lie anymore. Another day works too, if you feel like it."

Sylvain quickly searches his mind for an excuse, but there really isn't anything convincing he can say without having to expose his distaste for her.

Then again, since when has he really cared about the women he flirts with? It's not like they care about him. If showing his distaste frees him, then why not? He'd rather have her annoyed with him than actively put himself in her clutches. Maybe that's not the smartest move, but it's the one he's going with. "I'd rather not, honestly."

Mercedes blinks in surprise. "Oh? I promise it's quite pleasant-"

"That's not the problem." Sylvain says, cutting her off. "I know full well what you're doing and what you're capable of. I'm not involving myself in that."

Mercedes' face turns to a confused frown. "Oh? You don't want to involve yourself in helping others relax? Isn't that what you're always doing with Felix and Ingrid?"

Sylvain crosses his arms. "Don't treat me like an idiot, you know what I mean."

"I really don't."

Does he actually have to spell this out? "We both know your appointments are a convenient way to get connections, prestige, and search for a husband."

Mercedes straightens her back, offended. "You think I'm that petty?"

"Isn't everyone?" Sylvain asks. "Come on, how many of the noble students here _aren't_ involved in some form of political scheme? Everyone is making connections, and more than half the girls are just trying to snare an important duke-to-be. I'm not blind Mercedes."

Mercedes purses her lips. "Perhaps, but even so, that is not everyone. It's quite rude to presume such a thing. Even if that is the case, that does not make them _malicious_. Not every search for position and partners is an affair involving blackmail and backstabbing Sylvain."

"Considering your history, I'm surprised to hear that from you." Sylvain snorts.

"Oh, don't misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting you don't be wary. I'm merely suggesting that you stop assuming you know everything about a person you've barely interacted with." Mercedes chides. "I am not searching for a husband, thank you very much, though I wouldn't turn my nose up at a romantic partner if I found someone suitable. Nor am I particularly attempting to spread my influence. I need to feed, and this is the least morally dubious way to do so, with the upside of being stress relief for others."

"Uh-huh." Sylvain says doubtfully. "And I suppose you're going to tell me you're _not_ using your charm powers on people to keep them amicable to you either."

"Of course I'm not. That would be a terrible thing to do!" Mercedes exclaims. She was only minorly offended before, but now she's _quite_ annoyed. What a thing to suggest! She'd like to think she has more moral fortitude than your average _tyrannical dictator_ thank you very much! "What did I do to deserve being seen as a manipulative monster? Please inform me Sylvain."

"You need to suspect the worst of people." Sylvain says matter-of-factly. "How can I possibly confirm you _aren't_ manipulating people?"

"That's called paranoia Sylvain."

"And?"

"Literally anyone could be manipulating other people, and not using magic for that matter. If anything, I'm _less_ suspicious because it's much easier to detect charm magic than plain old social manipulation." Mercedes huffs.

"Ah." Sylvain pauses. "Uh, maybe you have all the faculty under your influence already?"

Mercedes gives him a flat, unimpressed look. Even Sylvain has to admit that sounds far-fetched. "Sylvain, really. You sound like Bernadetta."

"Okay, okay, you _probably_ don't have the faculty under your control." Sylvain grumbles.

"If you're still worried, I could always teach you how to detect charm magic." Mercedes suggests. "It's not the most difficult thing in the world. Arcane Sight is one of the most basic spells there is."

Sylvain mulls the suggestion over. Arcane sight would be useful for more than just seeing charm magic. He could see _any_ magic. He wouldn't mind being able to do that. "What's the catch?"

"There's no catch. I'm more than willing to teach you for free." Mercedes says. "But, if it would make you feel safer to offer some sort of payment… I still need to feed on someone today, and I'd quite like to show I won't do something horrible to you."

Sylvain's eyes narrow a bit. That sounds to him like an awfully convenient way _to facilitate_ doing something to him. Still, Mercedes did have a point. He really doesn't have any proof that Mercedes was doing anything wrong to the people she feeds on. She also went out of her way to help Ashe before, which, for the sake of reputation or not, is a nice thing to do, and he can always alert Felix and Ingrid beforehand so they can make sure he's not permanently charmed when he comes back.

Besides, Felix has gone through an appointment before and came out fine. Annoyed, but fine. Sylvain kinda wants to do this just to feel what Felix felt. Felix didn't like it, and it's one thing to hear it was because he felt powerless, and another thing to actually experience that firsthand and be able to empathize.

"Fine then. I'll bite. Or, well, let you bite."

"It doesn't involve biting Sylvain."

"Maybe it can." Sylvain says, and forces a wink to break the tension and placate his own nervousness. "How long will teaching take, by the way?"

"It depends on your level of understanding with magical theory." Mercedes says.

"I know the basics. I can even pull up a small fireball if I focus long enough." Sylvain says. "Believe it or not, I actually pay attention in class."

"Well, then it should only take a week or two." Mercedes assures. "See you tonight? After dinner?"

"Sure. Your room or mine?"

"Mine please. I'm properly prepared for appointments, after all."

" _What sort of preparations does she need for appointments anyways?_ " Sylvain muses. "Hey, sure. My room's a bit of a mess anyways. It's a date then."

Mercedes rolls her eyes at the sudden return of his flirtatiousness. "Sure, sure. Don't cry if I turn you down at the end then."

"That's supposed to be my line!" Sylvain gasps. "And who says I won't surprise you?!"

"Please do." The succubus says. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for the service."

"Ah, of course. Don't let me get in the way of your devotion, my lady." Sylvain says, and makes an exaggerated bow and sweep of his arm as Mercedes walks away into the Cathedral.

As soon as she's out of sight, Sylvain immediately turns around and jogs off to find Ingrid. He's honestly terrified about what he just signed himself up for.

###

A student dorm room has never looked so foreboding. Mercedes' room, from the outside, is just like all the others. The only difference are the small garden boxes at the edge of the porch, growing a few different types of herbs whose leaves can be used in tea or for medical usage, and a few rolls of thread propped up on the inside of her windows.

Sylvain glances left and right, not sure if he's thankful or worried that no one else is here to see him go inside. Ingrid knows he's going in (she was exasperated with his 'paranoia' concerning Mercedes. "She's basically a mom, calm down Sylvain" were her exact words), so he should be fine, but his apprehension is persistent nonetheless.

He can't put this off forever though. Sylvain straightens his shoulders, brings his usual winning smile to his face, and knocks on the door.

He waits six agonizing seconds. Somewhere behind him a bush rustles menacingly, shifting to his left foot causes the wooden porch to creak much too loudly, and there is the quiet, sinister sound of movement on the other side of the door.

Mercedes opens the door looking much the same as ever. The only noticeable difference is the lack of her shawl, and her necklace resting on her shirt so it can be removed rather than being tucked inside for safety.

Her smile is almost exaggeratedly soothing, like the smile someone might give to calm a frightened child. Sylvain consciously tries not to shift or squirm and stand straight, projecting as much confidence as he can, but it feels futile even as he does it. His weakness has surely already been noted. A predator species like a succubus would hardly miss the signs.

"Oh good, you're here!" Mercedes says. Her eyes quickly flick over his form, but to Sylvain it feels like a thorough examination. "Are you ready? Have you eaten and drank? This isn't the fastest process. I have cookies if you want."

"No, uh, I don't need cookies." Sylvain says. Does she treat everyone like this? And _cookies_? Is he a child to her? A nervous child to be reassured?

No, no, that's not right. She just likes sweets. He's jumping to conclusions.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Good! I'm quite peckish." Mercedes says cheerfully, as if discussing him as _food_ is perfectly normal. She steps aside to let him in, and Sylvain crosses the threshold to her room. Her room is almost painfully cosy and well-organized. Everything is tucked neatly into a corner or cubby (probably so Annette doesn't trip over something, now that he thinks of it), there's a very nice rug on the floor, and no less than a six blankets he can see either stacked on a cupboard, out on the bed, or hanging off her desk chair, and a whole slew of other small things Sylvain could call out like her usual shawl hanging off a coat hook. "Chair or bed?"

"Uh…"

"Oh, sorry. I should clarify: would you like to sit or lie down? I wouldn't want to have to hold you up the entire time after all."

Sylvain isn't prepared to make a decision like this. He has no idea if he should sit or lie down. What does that even entail? What's the actual difference? Thinking on it, how, exactly, is Mercedes feeding on him? He knows skin contact is necessary, the more the better, but he's never actually heard someone describe the exact actions she takes during a feeding. "Is there a difference?"

"Just preference." Mercedes says. "Are you more comfortable sitting or lying down?"

"Uh…" Sylvain says again, feeling dumb. Every time he's made out with a girl, he's never actually discussed things beforehand like this. It was always very spontaneous. He has no idea what to say. _Does_ he have a preference? He never thought about it.

Sensing his loss of direction, Mercedes puts him out of his misery and makes the decision for him. "Let's lie down, shall we?" She says gently, and grabs one of his hands. "There's less of a chance of a slightly off posture leaving you sore."

"Sure." Sylvain says, like he was considering that at all rather than drawing a complete blank.

It's almost alien to be in such familiar territory, lying down in a girl's bed, but feel like he has no control, almost like he's a toy that Mercedes is pushing around (if very gently).

Ingrid would probably scoff and say that for how many women he's manipulated, this is getting off light. Sylvain can hear her nagging in his ear right now, telling him that he's fine and there's nothing to worry about.

"Alright." Mercedes murmurs. She's kneeling overtop of him, legs on either side of his hips and hair dangling around his face. Her hand is on her necklace. "This is your last chance to bow out. I can tell you're still nervous. If you don't want to do this, say so now. You won't be capable of it once we start."

Right. Paralysis. He'd sort of forgotten about that. He's come too far to back out now though. His pride won't allow it. "I'm good." And, just to try and retain some sense of normalcy, he adds: "Don't get too attached to me! This might be a one time thing."

Mercedes smiles softly, clearly recognizing his continued nervousness. Somehow that acknowledgement makes him more nervous than if she'd just ignored it and gone ahead. He hates that she can see right through him. "I'll try not to."

With that, Mercedes plucks off her necklace, and Sylvain goes ridgid. He'd hoped he was prepared for charm magic. It's just a mental influence, intrusive thoughts. Surely he could ignore it if he tried hard enough.

Of course not. It's never that simple. The necklace comes off and Sylvain feels like he's been sucker-punched. He's no stranger to lust, it's one of the few things he actually feels towards the many girls he's fooled around with, but it's never felt quite so… oppressive. Rather than some primitive appreciation for a nice body, he's actively having trouble pulling his eyes off Mercedes. It's honestly unnerving just how much _want_ he feels, and how difficult it is to ignore it.

"Succubus charm magic, our natural aura anyways, when we don't try to shape it, has variable effects." Mercedes murmurs while setting down her necklace on her side-table. "Some people feel an unignorable lust, some feel a gripping fascination, some feel a desperation to please, others feel paralyzing reverence, and there are countless other effects I could mention. I can usually predict the effect fairly well. It's dependent on personality, and how the individual deals with romantic and sexual attraction in general."

Even her voice excites him, which, from a logical standpoint, is absurd to Sylvain. She's academically describing charm magic. It should _not_ be sexy in the slightest, but somehow it is. Her voice is also noticeably different. There's a faint whisper, a purr, added to her words. Is that a side-effect of her magic on his brain, or is that something natural to her that the necklace suppresses?

"For you, I'd predict lust." Mercedes says. "That tends to be the standard response, and even if you have a different response there's almost always a _little_ lust thrown in. Teenagers and young adults are quite predictable. Of course, there are quite a few colourful personalities here at the monastery, so I see other responses much more often than I would otherwise in this sort of age group."

Sylvain nods dumbly, hanging off every word. He feels compelled to say something, but almost immediately regrets it when all he can mustur is: "I- uh- yes."

The girl smiles down at him when she hears his words. It's still a gentle and kind smile, but there's something else there too. Amusement, satisfaction, hunger. Things that should make him squirm in discomfort if he were in his right mind. "Ready? Well, I suppose we're past that point now. I'm going to start. You're going to feel your muscles relax of their own accord, and you might start to lose focus and your train of thought. It's quite normal and not at all permanent, don't worry."

Saying "don't worry" in this circumstance is like throwing a fireball at someone's face and saying "don't flinch". Even if they have a shield or high magic resistance, they're going to flinch from the light alone.

Not that Sylvain can worry for very long. Mercedes' lips are very distracting, and the swell of her breasts is just begging to be squeezed. His hands are oddly shakey as he raises them, but Mercedes cuts him off by using the opportunity to thread her hands and arms down his sleeves and pull him into a hug while wrapping her arms around his bare back inside his shirt. It's not at all what he was expecting, and he thinks he would have liked some warning about this _before_ being charmed up to his ears.

That thought is quickly replaced by inane thoughts like "her hands are very soft", and various other thoughts are decidedly less wholesome, but the point still stands damnit.

The majority of the feeding, upon thinking back to it (because his thoughts aren't very coherent for most of it) felt like a dream. It was only a few hours, but could have been an eternity for all Sylvain could tell at the time. It was blissful in the mindless relaxation sense, like sleeping under a tree on a nice day, but with a consistent stream of garbled, half-formed thoughts and impulses shooting through his mind seemingly at random.

He's also vaguely aware that his lust was suppressed at some point during the feeding. He simply… stopped feeling it. Thinking about it, Mercedes must have consciously decided to do that, probably to make the entire ordeal more comfortable for the both of them. He wouldn't have to deal with constant sexual tension, and for her part the benefit would be that he would just stop squirming and twitching the entire time.

His sense of self awareness returns quickly after the feeding is done, but it's not a sharp return like suddenly waking up from sleep. It's a gradual process, and the point at which he realises he isn't thinking in flashes of emotion and half-conherant thoughts anymore is hard to pin down.

Mercedes is no longer on top of him. She's sitting on the edge of the bed next to him, humming as she knits something. Every once in a while she looks back at him, checking to see if he's returned to coherency.

He doesn't know what tips her off. Is it that he meets and keeps eye contact, or is it just a change in facial expression? Either way, she puts down her project and starts to talk to him.

"Are you back?"

He nods, not trusting his tongue to answer like he wants it to.

"You reacted rather strongly to my charm magic." Mercedes notes. "Usually people are up and moving again within fifteen minutes, if rather wobbly in their movements, after I finish. You've been lying here for about thirty, and have been much more dazed than most people. Usually I could talk to someone in the middle of the feeding and they'd be able to at least understand me and respond with a blink. You… well… you were borderline incoherent. Do you even remember me talking to you?"

Sylvain takes a moment to think. Charm is still in his system, but his focus is returning rapidly. "I…" He says, testing his voice. "I can remember you talking, but not what you were saying."

"I see…" Mercedes murmurs. "Usually I don't see that sort of incoherency unless I'm doing something significantly more intimate."

"Is that… bad?" He asks.

"No, it simply means you're weak to charm magic." Mercedes soothes. "Even so, you were in no danger."

That still sounds bad to him.

"I'll admit, I wasn't sure if I should have used my magic to give you some clarity." Mercedes says. "It's standard practice when doing anything more intimate than a kiss, actually, because a succubus' partner tends to be… erm… borderline catatonic if they don't. "

"What…?" Sylvain asks, alarmed.

"Essentially, they feel too much pleasure for their brain to process and sort of just… black out. So any decent succubus will give them a focus boost, or maybe mute the pleasure, so that _doesn't_ happen and they can actually enjoy and process what's going on." Mercedes explains. "Though, I'm told it's very pleasurable for the two or three seconds they remain conscious if you don't give them some sort of protection."

Okay. Cool. That's not _fucking horrifying_.

"Not that you were at risk of that." Mercedes reassures, belatedly realizing what she was implying and probably seeing Sylvain's expression. "Even if you had no resistance whatsoever, this sort of feeding doesn't produce enough pleasure to have that result."

Still horrifying.

"Would you have prefered I give you some extra focus, for future reference?" Mercedes asks. "Or were you fine despite being incoherent? It only really matters that it was enjoyable, after all."

"I'd rather be able to understand what's going on." You know, assuming this is even going to happen in the future, which it probably won't because once is enough thank you very much. It felt great, but in a terrifying, mind-numbing sort of way.

"Alright." She says. "I… I apologize if it was a bit more scary than expected. Most people don't have a vulnerability to charm."

"It's fine, really." Sylvain says. He tries to push himself to a sitting position, and only manages halfway before his shaky arms give out on themselves and he collapses back into the sheets. "Ugh…"

"I wouldn't try to move for a while." Mercedes warns. "Even if the paralysis has worn off, the charm hasn't, and that can be plenty disorienting. I don't want you falling down stairs or something."

"Annette has done that before, hasn't she?"

"Maybe." Is what Mercedes says, but her expression clearly tells him that, yes, it has happened, and more than once. "I don't let her leave without my escort until I'm sure the charm has worn off."

"She trips over enough barrels and rocks as is?"

"You have no idea." Mercedes sighs. "Honestly, sometimes I'm tempted to just _carry_ her everywhere so she stops tripping."

The mental image makes Sylvain smile. "You really _are_ a mom."

Mercedes rolls her eyes. "A title I shall wear with pride."

That's how the next half an hour is spent, having little conversations with Mercedes. By the end of it, Sylvain feels oddly, genuinely calm, and not because of the charm magic. Sylvain finds that Mercedes is very, strangely... normal. Not normal in the noble sense of marriages, money, and machinations, but normal in the common sense of friends, food (Mercedes has much to say about sweets, Sylvain discovers), and family.

And so despite deciding that he's not going to ask for an appointment again, because it was still a vaguely terrifying experience, Sylvain returns to his room that night feeling calm, and like maybe he wouldn't mind sharing another meal with Mercedes some other time; not for the sake of flirtation, but because even with the necklace on there's something oddly soothing about talking with her.

Or maybe that's the residual charm in his system speaking, and tomorrow he'll wake up and want nothing to do with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sylvain was a unique challenge to try and write in this context, because he's the philanderer and also not at the same time, and that feels like it should have a very peculiar interaction with Mercedes who so heavily (if by necessity) involves herself in intimate actions. The philanderer and the succubus. I feel like there's a lot more that could be done here, but I'd need to put a lot more thought into it (especially because I struggled to make the characters feel like themselves in this chapter).


End file.
